WASHINGTON -- Federal officials said they've used a new chemical test to confirm what earlier tests have found -- Gulf seafood is safe to eat.

WASHINGTON -- Federal officials said they've used a new chemical test to confirm what earlier tests have found -- Gulf seafood is safe to eat.

The new test looks for dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, known as DOSS, which is a major component of the chemicals called dispersants that were used to clean up in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Officials from the FDA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told reporters on Friday that they've tested 1,735 seafood samples collected from June to September, covering a wide area of the Gulf. The samples come from a range of fish species, including grouper, tuna, wahoo, swordfish, gray snapper, butterfish, red drum, and croaker; and from shellfish such as shrimp, crabs and oysters.

Trace amounts of dispersants were found in 13 of the samples, but were well below the safety threshold of 100 parts per million for fish and 500 parts per million for shrimp, crabs, and oysters, said John Stein, MD, Seafood Safety Program director at NOAA, on a conference call.

"This additional round of testing has confirmed our initial analysis that Gulf seafood brought to market is safe," said Vicki Seyfert-Margolis, senior adviser for science and innovation at the FDA. She added that both agencies will continue to monitor the safety of seafood.

"This new test should help strengthen consumer confidence in Gulf seafood," said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, in a prepared statement. "The overwhelming majority of the seafood tested shows no detectable residue, and not one of the samples shows a residue level that would be harmful for humans. There is no question Gulf seafood coming to market is safe from oil or dispersant residue."

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